Monrovia: April 2008 Archives

This comes from John Schwada's blog on the FOX 11 website. Thanks to LA Observed for pointing it out.

Schwada is one of the few TV reporters I respect. That's primarily because he comes from a newspaper background and knows how to write, edit and speak proper English. Additionally, (and perhaps most importantly) he is a good reporter as this blog post should make clear.

Baca's deputies in Temple City and Monrovia city officials might want to take note of these remarks. During the late January and early February Monrovia crime spree that left four dead, there was constant denial of racial undertones in the crimes.

Here's an excerpt from Schwada's blog entry:

LA County Sheriff Lee Baca, on April 4th, told a largely African-American audience in Compton that when Latino gangs are at war with black gangs over drugs and turf they are sometimes satisfied to kill any young black living in their rival’s territory in order to flex their criminal muscle. In other words, Baca asserted innocents are being targeted for death by gangs just because of their race. Sounds like a hate-crime to most of us.

Right now, up at the Rio Hondo Police Academy, there is a class that will graduate sometime soon, full of young would-be officers who are looking for a police department for whom to work.
When the Azusa PD recruiter heads of the hill, he can boast “We’ll pay YOU the most.” And the Monrovia PD recruiter can counter, “yeah, but we’ll pay Sacramento the most!”
It’s not hard to imagine which cop will have the most cadets to talk to at the end of the day.
The cost of police services is a vital issue, and one the City must address. But, the council and City Manager should also have the wisdom to realize that they are competitors in a market, and if they are not providing potential suppliers (of police labor), they will be left with the second choice among those suppliers - or potentially none at all.

RCJ Parry has a lengthy post on TheFCBlog about how the Monrovia Police Officers Association has been ill treated by the city even after the shooting of Sgt. Dan Verna early Sunday.

From Parry's commentary:

Regardless of your opinion of the Monrovia Police Officers’ Association’s tactics, the City of Monrovia has clearly taken the most egregious steps possible in attacking not only the MPOA, but the Police Department itself.

The City Council voted Tuesday night to study three measures which would utterly destroy the police department - one of which would directly impact crime fighting efforts and, in fact, will unquestionably bring the current anti-gang effort to a screeching halt.

The proposals reflect the council’s complete and utter ignorance of police work, an astounding failure to understand markets (or intentional sabotage of MPD) and the individual council members’ personal contempt for the officers of the department. Remarkably, all this came barely three days after MPD Sergeant Dan Verna came within a fraction of an inch of dying at the hands of a common thief.

“This is strictly punitive,” Phil Nelson, MPOA president, told me. “It has nothing to do with improving police services in this community.”

The whole enchilada is here.

This time in Glendale, where again an officer attempting an arrest was shot. The suspect in this case was also shot and died at the scene. The AP provided this photo of the investigation.

Here's a brief synopsis of the gunbattle:

GLENDALE - An officer was shot and a man was killed following a series of gun battles between the man and several officers Monday evening, police said.

The wounded officer was struck in the chest but was wearing a bullet-proof vest and is expected to survive, said Sgt. Tom Lorenz, with the Glendale Police Department.

The shooting occurred around 9:30 p.m. near Colorado Boulevard and Adams Street after an officer chased a suspect who then turned and began firing a weapon at the officer, Lorenz said.

The rest of the story is here.

Meanwhile, Monrovia police and Sheriff's detectives continue to investigate the OIS that occurred there early Sunday morning. Police have identified the Monrovia officer wounded in the incident, but have yet to provide a name for the suspected shooter, who remains in the hospital.

Star-News reporter Melissa Pamer filed an update in the case, which includes this information:

The 50-year-old, 320-pound suspect allegedly shot veteran Monrovia police Sgt. Dan Verna during a gun battle in the southwest corner of the city just after midnight.

The man, whose name is being withheld pending his discharge from a hospital and booking, was shot several times after he fired on Verna, authorities said.

Officials believe he was the same man wanted in connection to recent crimes in Arcadia, Monrovia spokesman Dick Singer said.

"He's suspected of being responsible for a whole string of burglaries in Arcadia," Singer said. "If it's this guy, then he's been getting very aggressive recently."

It's interesting that city spokesman Dick Singer apparently knows more than the police department in regards to this case.